Military

THAAD and the Great Power Context II: Missile Defense and China-Russia Defense Cooperation

By | February 13, 2017

In the second part of his series on Great Power politics in Northeast Asia, Anthony Rinna looks at the question of whether successful China-Russia defense relations in the region are possible beyond mere rhetoric.

A Roundtable Review of Carter Eckert’s Park Chung Hee and Modern Korea: The Roots of Militarism, 1866-1945

By | December 16, 2016

Sino-NK presents a roundtable review of Carter Eckert’s splendid new book on the Manchurian roots of Korean militarism, offering readers a companion to the main review by Prof. Clark Sorenson.

Kim Jong-un, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Trident Debate

By | July 26, 2016

At a recent Parliamentary debate in London, North Korea was raised time and again as justification for the renewal of Britain’s submarine nuclear deterrent. Adam Cathcart parses what it means for the besieged opposition Labour Party, and peers into shadows of Korean War destruction for the Conservatives.

Reinterpreting the Withdrawal of Chinese Troops from North Korea, 1956-1958

By | July 12, 2016

Did Kim Il-sung’s nationalism force the Chinese out of North Korea in the 1950s, or was it an agreed strategy meant to bolster anti-US propaganda? This post reviews new data on a pivotal moment in Chinese-North Korean relations.

It’s Not About the Moon: The Military and Economic Logics to South Korean Space Exploration

By and | May 31, 2016

The University of Washington’s Clint Work and Kim Seon-hee pen a critical overview of recent developments in South Korea’s space program, highlighting the military and economic logics behind the country’s interest in tackling humanity’s last frontier.